Nurse’s compassion allows Beacon Children’s Hospital patient to witness solar eclipse
Ashton Murphy
Ashton Murphy placed his cardboard glasses over his eyes, craned his neck, and like many of us, watched the moon slowly slide across the sun Monday. Only Ashton was not in his backyard or even his home state. The pediatric intensive care patient watched the eclipse in his hospital gown outside Beacon Children’s Hospital.
His parents are grateful for the nurse who made it happen. “She has been really sweet and loving to our son. It’s just what he needed,” his mom said.
RN Stephanie Heltzel had been hearing all sorts of facts about the eclipse from Ashton, who was in town with his parents. The family traveled from Plano, Texas, to have work done on their RV, visit Notre Dame and go fishing on spring break.
But on Sunday, Ashton was nauseated from intense abdominal pain. It had some on suddenly Saturday and gradually became worse. He arrived emergently to Memorial Hospital and had a laparoscopic appendectomy.
“Ashton was full of facts about the eclipse,” Stephanie said, because the teen loves astrogeology, studying minerals and rocks from other planets. She learned the family brought eclipse glasses along with them. “Kids especially enjoy learning and experiencing new things. I couldn’t let him miss it just because he was in the hospital.”
Stephanie Heltzel, RN, Beacon Children’s Hospital
Because of her busy schedule, Stephanie set an alarm on her watch for 2:45 p.m. and, true to her word, she pushed Ashton to watch daylight dimming and observe the sun becoming a thin, crescent-shaped sliver as the moon passed between it and the earth.
“From the get-go, we were very confident in our surgeon, in all the doctors, and in his nursing care,” Ashton’s dad said. “From the moment we came to the hospital, we couldn’t have asked for better care. And we can’t say enough great things about Stephanie. What she did tells us so much about love and care.”
Learn more about Beacon Children’s
Beacon Children’s Hospital is the region’s only comprehensive children’s hospital. We welcome and treat children from 31 referring hospitals across 20 counties throughout Michigan and Indiana. We have all the expertise of a large health system and deliver the warm and friendly pediatric care you’d expect from a community hospital. Learn more here.
